Over the years, three side trails have emerged from regional interests in addition to the main Loccum-Volkenroda trail. On the one hand, these side trails offer the opportunity to try out a closed circular route of no more than four daily stages to see if pilgrimage makes sense and if hiking is fun. Byway I: Neustadt am Rübenberge and Eilvese Secondary route II: Hessisch-Oldendorf and Rintel Byway III: Monastery trail (total length 79 km) The Byway III links several preserved and abandoned monasteries. The trail takes you from Mühlhausen and the Hülfensberg Monastery, which has been an important place of pilgrimage in Catholic Eichsfeld since the late Middle Ages, through the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal Nature Park back to Mühlhausen. Stage 1: From Mühlhausen to Küllstedt (29 km) Stage 2 : From Küllstedt to the Hülfensberg monastery (22 km) Stage 3: From Hülfensberg Monastery to Zella Monastery (11 km) Stage 4: From Zella Monastery to Mühlhausen (17 km)

Over the years, three side trails have emerged from regional interests in addition to the main Loccum-Volkenroda trail. On the one hand, these side trails offer the opportunity to try out a closed circular route of no more than four daily stages to see if pilgrimage makes sense and if hiking is fun. Byway I: Neustadt am Rübenberge and Eilvese Secondary route II: Hessisch-Oldendorf and Rintel Byway III: Monastery trail (total length 79 km) The Byway III links several preserved and abandoned monasteries. The trail takes you from Mühlhausen and the Hülfensberg Monastery, which has been an important place of pilgrimage in Catholic Eichsfeld since the late Middle Ages, through the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal Nature Park back to Mühlhausen. Stage 1: From Mühlhausen to Küllstedt (29 km) Stage 2: From Küllstedt to the Hülfensberg monastery (22 km) Stage 3: From Hülfensberg Monastery to Zella Monastery (11 km) Stage 4: From Zella Monastery to Mühlhausen (17 km)

Over the years, three side trails have emerged from regional interests in addition to the main Loccum-Volkenroda trail. On the one hand, these side trails offer the opportunity to try out a closed circular route of no more than four daily stages to see if pilgrimage makes sense and if hiking is fun. Byway I: Neustadt am Rübenberge and Eilvese Secondary route II: Hessisch-Oldendorf and Rintel Byway III: Monastery trail (total length 79 km) The Byway III links several preserved and abandoned monasteries. The trail takes you from Mühlhausen and the Hülfensberg Monastery, which has been an important place of pilgrimage in Catholic Eichsfeld since the late Middle Ages, through the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal Nature Park back to Mühlhausen. Stage 1: From Mühlhausen to Küllstedt (29 km) Stage 2: From Küllstedt to the Hülfensberg monastery (22 km) Stage 3: From Hülfensberg Monastery to Zella Monastery (11 km) Stage 4: From Zella Monastery to Mühlhausen (17 km)

Over the years, three side trails have emerged from regional interests to complement the main Loccum-Volkenroda trail. On the one hand, these side trails offer the opportunity to try out a closed circular route of no more than four daily stages to see if pilgrimage makes sense and if hiking is fun. Byway I: Neustadt am Rübenberge and Eilvese Secondary route II: Hessisch-Oldendorf and Rintel Byway III: Monastery Trail (total length 79 km) Byway III links several preserved and abandoned monasteries. Its route between Mühlhausen and Hülfensberg Monastery, which has been an important place of pilgrimage in Catholic Eichsfeld since the late Middle Ages, runs for the most part through the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal Nature Park. Stage 1: From Mühlhausen to Küllstedt Stage 2: From Küllstedt to Hülfensberg Monastery Section 3: From Hülfensberg Monastery to Zella Monastery Stage 4: From Zella Monastery to Mühlhausen (17 km) Source: Pilgrims' Way Hiking Guide, From Loccum Monastery to Volkenroda Monastery with official maps on a scale of 1:50,000. A new way on old paths. 1st edition 2007. ISBN 978-3-89435-995-9

The medieval Normannstein Castle, built mainly in the Romanesque style, was constructed in the 11th century as an observatory to protect the three fords that led through the River Werra and gave the town its name. Today the story of the five Werra castles can be experienced in a permanent exhibition entitled ‘Werraburgen über Werrafurten’ (Werra castles over Werra fords) in the large four-sided tower. The Zella Abbey in the southern Eichsfeld was founded in around 1100 or even earlier as a double monastery and convent for both men and women. The abbey was not badly affected by the Peasants’ War; in 1525 it was plundered, but not destroyed. As a result of the Reformation, all the nuns left the abbey except for the Prioress who felt connected to Luther’s teachings. Mühlhausen is known as the town of towers, gates and churches. Luther does not have any direct link to the town, and it was his former companion, the radical theologian Thomas Müntzer who was the priest here and led the local rebels during the Peasants’ War. During the war, Mühlhausen was its Thuringian centre. Luther tried to convince the peasants with his arguments and on 10 May 1525, he published the article ‘Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants’ – an exposé that was intended to make it clear that you cannot enforce the law with violence, but should pray for divine assistance. Thomas Müntzer was referred to as the ‘Arch Devil of Mühlhausen’ and someone to be avoided. On 15 May 1525, the peasants led by Thomas Müntzer were almost entirely wiped out at the Battle of Frankenhausen. Müntzer himself survived the battle. He was arrested, tortured and beheaded in Mühlhausen on 27 May 1525. According to cultural and local history, St Mary’s Church was used for imperial legal decisions, J.S. Bach’s ‘Ratswahl’ cantata was first played here and Thomas Müntzer preached here. Today the church is a Müntzer memorial and is also used as a music and religious venue. The interior of the Kornmarktkirche church, which was secularised in 1802, is the home of the Peasants’ War museum and features an exhibition on the progression, the climaxes and the aftereffects of the German Peasants’ War in the context of time and as a part of German national history.

Its numerous churches, the town hall, the attractive town houses and significant courtyards as well as the town wall that you can walk along, are just some of the sites of Mühlhausen, which in the Middle Ages was the second most important town in Thuringia after Erfurt. In those days, Martin Luther’s former supporter, the radical theologian Thomas Müntzer was the priest here and was the spiritual leader of the rebels during the Peasants’ War. Luther himself never visited the former free imperial town. That fact that Mühlhausen played an important part in the Reformation and during the German Peasants’ War was all down to the influence of Thomas Müntzer. In the 15th century, criticism against wrongdoings within the church became louder. They combined with an apocalyptic mood that had – in part – been triggered by the plague epidemic in Europe. At the same time, the economy was changing. Trade was flourishing and farmers and day labourers were becoming poorer. Thomas Müntzer got to the heart of the situation and the current mood and radicalised it. He mixed elements of medieval mystic with apocalyptic ideas and created his theology of revolution. He saw the riots as the beginning of divine judgement and said that exploiters should be executed by the sword. The role he played in the Peasants’ War was crucial, as he did not just strive for the Reformation of the Church, but also for political revolution. He also saw violence as a means to an end. Martin Luther on the other hand, called for obedience to the authorities. When this did not work, he advocated a brutal approach to quash the rebels: ‘… they should be crushed, strangled and stabbed, both privately and publicly by anyone who is able, just as you would put down a rabid dog’. He called Thomas Müntzer the devil of Allstedt and thus made his former companion his enemy. The permanent exhibition at the museums in Mühlhausen revolves around Martin Luther’s bitter opponent Müntzer. A special item on display is a replica of the richly decorated sword that Thomas Müntzer is said to have used in the bloody Battle of Frankenhausen on 15 May 1525. After the rebels were seriously defeated, the defiant preacher was arrested, tortured and later beheaded. From Mühlhausen the Luther Trail leads to Oberdorla. The Abbey Church of St Peter and Paul here is well worth a visit. At the entrance of the Romanesque church, you can see statues of the two apostles. They are seriously weathered, but still very impressive. The next stops are the towns of Langula, Kammerforst and Craula. From here, it’s worth taking a detour to the Treetop Trail and the ‘Wurzelhöhle’ (Root Caves) at the Thiemsburg National Park Centre at the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Hainich National Park.

Behind Friedland, the pilgrimage trail leads across meadows, through woods and fields, past the Steinkopf, to Reiffenhausen, 4 km away. After another 2 km, you reach the former border to the GDR, the former "death strip". Only a few concrete slabs of the Kolonnenweg still remind us of it. In the meantime, the border strip has become a species-rich biotope with rare plants and animals. Today, the border to Thuringia is crossed at this point and the Eichsfeld is reached. In the Catholic Eichsfeld, pilgrims repeatedly come across pilgrimage chapels from different eras; pilgrimages and pilgrimages have an unbroken tradition here. The first chapel can be found just a few metres from the state border. The Magdalen Chapel only became accessible again after the fall of communism. From the state border, the trail leads to Rustenfelde, 2 km away, below the striking dome of the Rusteberg, where the castle of the bailiff of the archbishops of Mainz stood in the Middle Ages. The trail continues past Burgwalde. There is an opportunity to look at the first listed church in Germany, on whose roof a photovoltaic system has been installed. From there, there is a station trail to the old sacrificial site where the Boniface Chapel stands. Every year on Whitsunday, many believers gather there for the pilgrimage. The route continues through Steinheuterode and Rengelrode to Heilbad Heiligenstadt, 13 km away. The small medieval old town with its numerous churches and chapels offers many sights

In Heiligenstadt, there is the option of choosing a trail variant via Gut Beinrode as a stopover after Dingelstädt (stages 16b and 17b). On this section, the trail starts in Heiligenstadt and climbs steeply up to the wooded heights of the Dün. There is a wonderful view back over Heiligenstadt and the Eichsfeld. After 5 km, you reach an altitude of 435 m above sea level. Here you will find a large wooden cross, which was already visible from afar in GDR times as a symbol of the Christian faith firmly rooted in the Eichsfeld. Before reaching Geisleden, 4 km away, the trail curves around the Dachstal valley. Beyond Geisleden, the route leads from Heuthen over the watershed between the Leine and Unstrut rivers (Weser and Elbe) at an altitude of 480 m above sea level, past the Werdigeshäuser pilgrimage chapel of St. Cyriakus, to Kefferhausen, where the Unstrut rises. After - from Geisleden - a total of 11 km, Dingelstädt is reached.

The pilgrimage route follows the Unstrut to the center of Mühlhausen. It goes through the villages of Silberhausen, Helmsdorf, Zella, Horsmar, Dachrieden, Reiser and Ammern. Churches worth seeing and other historic buildings can be found everywhere. Directly behind Zella, which can be reached after 7 km, the remains of the Mühlhäuser Landgraben (14th century) are crossed. The Mühlhäuser Landgraben is still the confessional boundary between the Catholic Eichsfeld (stage 15) and the Protestant area of the former free imperial city of Mühlhausen. After another 9 km you reach Reiser. Mühlhausen will soon be reached from the north, recognizable from afar by the church towers that still characterize the town's silhouette today. There are numerous accommodation options for pilgrims, some of which are cheap.

From the historic old town in the center of Mühlhausen you go to the Catholic St. Josef Church, then at the train station left under the railway underpass to Görmar, 2 km away, past the Martini Church with its striking yellow half-timbered tower. Now the path follows the Unstrut for 3 km, then the Notter. After 1 km a railway line is crossed. Then it goes into a romantic-old, hilly meadow orchard, where Adonis flowers bloom in spring. From here the path leads to Kleingrabe, past the ruins of the St. Albanus church. In Kleingrabe, just behind the former railway line, which is being expanded into a cycle path, an old monastery path, the Eselstieg, goes 4 km up to the Volkenroda monastery. After more than 280 km, the goal of the pilgrimage route has now been reached. Here in Volkenroda, monks set out in 1163 to found Loccum. A little behind the monastery, along the road in the direction of Obermehler, past the "1000-year-old oak tree", you will find the counterpart to the "Begin and End" pilgrimage monument known from Loccum.